Method and apparatus for absorbing radium emanation



Oct. 9 1923. 1,470,027

H. B. PALMER METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ABSORBING RADIUM EMANATIONOriginal Filed March 9, 1920 3 Sheets-Sheet l I a P EH J IE 2 35 Z iEli-1 23? we 19 3121?: i 10 :5 {i a i? f 15 3331; awn 140130 Oct. 9,1923.

H. B. PALMER METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ABSORBING RADIUM EMANATION 3Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed March 9 1920 Illllllllllilllllll avwe/wtmOct. 9 1923.

H. B. PALMER METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ABSORBING RADIUM EMANATIONOriginal Filed March 9, 1920 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 1,410,027 Fries.

PATENT HARRY 1B. PALMER, OF MOBRISTOWN, NEW JERSEY.

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ABSORBING RADIUM. EMANATION.

Application filed March 9, 1920, Serial No. 364,446. Renewed March 1,1928.

T all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HARRY B. PALMER, a citizen of the United States,residing in Morristown, county of Morris, and State of New Jersey, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Methods and Apparatusfor Absorbing Radium Emanation,

of whichthe following is a specification.

Thi invention relates to apparatus for absorbing emanations from radioactive substances. 1

One object is to provide an improved process and apparatus forimpregnating air and water with the emanation given 0 by a solution of aradium salt. A further objet-tv is to produce an apparatus which may beemployed for therapeutical uses and in which the radium emanation may bereadily, efiicientl-y and cheaplyabsorbed. A further object is toprovide an apparatus and process which will enable the absorption ofemanation to be under complete control of the operator at all times, andwhich will also enable a solution of emanations of any desired strengthto be produced.

Recent discoverieshave shown that the emanation given off by radium, andother radio active materials may be employed in many ways for curativepurposes. In fact it has recently been found that the naturalrejuvenating mineral springs, such as the Carlsbad at Baden-Baden, owetheir remarkable curative properties principally to the radio activeemanations contained in the water and in the vapors. The remarkabletherapeutic value of the natural rejuvenating springs has led to the useof artificially prepared radio active water and vapors.

The treatment with radium emanation is an important branch of radiumtheraphy 1. Alpha rays (positively charged helium particles).

2. Beta rays (negatively charged electrons).

3. Gamma rays (ether vibrations).

4. Radium emanation (a heavy radioacactive water and air charged withradium emanation for skin diseases probably arises partly from the factthat the emanation electrically charges the cutaneous nerves(particularly at the nerve endings) the amount of this electrical effectwill of course depend somewhat upon the strength of the radioactivewater or air. The exactstrength required for any-particular medical usewill naturally vary somewhat according to the circumstances and may bedetermined easily by a few simple experiments. I will now proceed todescribe one of the many forms in which my invention may be practiced.

Figure l of the drawings shows a front sectional view of a preferredform of emanation absorber.

Figure 2 shows a side sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 shows a side view partly in section of a slightly modified formof construction.

Figure 4 is a side view of another modified form of my invention showingthe manner of operation for producing radio active baths.

Referring now to the apparatus disclose in Figures 1 and 2, the casingvlformed of enameled metal or the like is shown as containing a radiumbulb 2, upon one side containing an aqueous solution of a radium saltsuch as radium bromide and a potash bulb 3 at the other side containinga solution of caustic alkali (sodium or potassium hydroxide). Arrangedbetween the radium tube 2 and the potash bulb 3 s the air tank 4containing a bell jar 5 whlch is adapted to be filled with air and floatupon the water in the bottom of the jar. In order to cause collectsslowly in the top of the when the desired quantityv has air to bubblethrough the solution of the radio active material contained in theradium bulb 2' to remove the emanation, I provide a reciprocating pump 6adapted to be operated by hand. This pump is provided with a. having ahand 9 which may be readily grasped by the hand whenever it is desiredto operate the pump. The piston fits in the cylinder 10 and in operationWhen the piston 7 is moved inwardly, air will be drawn from theatmosphere through the perforated stopper 11 of the flash 12, downthrough the tube 13, up through the alkali solution 14 in the potashbulb 3.

In' its passage through the alkali solution all carbon dioxide gas whichis con-.

tained in the air, will be entirely removed .by absorption, thuspreventing any possibility of contamination of the radium tion withcarbonates. d

vThe purifiedair, after passing through the tube 3 is then drawn throughthe glass pipe 15, through the two-way valve 16 into soluthe pipe 17;through the check valve 18,

the pump 6, and valve 19 and is forced through the pipe 20 and into theouter casing 21 of the radium bulb 2. From this outer casing 21 thepurified air is caused to bubble up through a solution of radium salt(preferably radium chloride) contained in the bulb 2. The flask 22hermetically closed at I the top by the glass stopper 23 .is providedwith a depending tube 24 which dips into the radium solution 25. In passing through, the radium solution of the air ta es up a certain amount ofthe gaseous emanation as well as small quantities of the helium which isalso being continuously emitted. The air upon leaving the radium bulb 2is pumped through the pipe 26, the two-wa valve 26, pipes 27 and 28,into the bel jar 5, a check valve 29 being positioned at the endof thepipe 28.

Upon entering the bell jar 5, the air and emanation, bubbles up throughthe column of water contained in the bell 'ar 5 and ll jar 5. As the airaccumulates the bell 'ar rises and en collected, (which may bedetermined by'reference to the scale 31 located within the tank 4) thepumpin is discontinued} The two-way valve 16 is t en turned through 90",so that the. central passage is vertical instead of horizontal and theair, which has been collected" in the receiver is then repumped throughthe radium solution for the purpose of absorbingflthe last traces of theemanation. The flow of air during this process may be traced as follows:from the top of the bell jar 5 down through the vertical pipe 32, thepipe 33, through the valve 16, 34, and into the pipe 17.

1P The flow o? the air from this point through piston 7 and piston rod8.

the pump 6 etc. is exactly the same as has already been described above.After all of the emanation which can be absorbed has been completelyremoved by the air froin the radium solution, it may be desirable tocontinue bubbling the air through the water. i in the tank in order toremove the last traces of said emanation from the air. When this is tobe done, the two-way valve 26 will be turned-through a right angle andthe air Will then be pumped in the following course: from bell jar 5through thepipes 32 and 33 through the valve 16, pipe 34, pipe 17,through pump 6, the pipe 20, pipe 35, valve 26, pipe 36, pipe 28 andinto the bell jar as before.

' After the radium emanation has been completely absorbed from the airby the water in the tank, the radio active waten may be stored insaidtank until it is de- I sired to usethe' same forbathing or drinksing. -To withdraw the radio active water from the tank the valve 37 maybe opened to allow the water to flow of! into the, a"

receptacle 38. If desired, a drinking glass:-2Q; f

ma be employed as the receptacle; he following example will illustratethe proportions of ingredients which may be used in carrying out theabsorption of emanation by the device shown in Figures 1 and 2: About 30cc. of a solution of radium 1 chloride containing 5- u 'cr0grams in 50%equilibrium was placegtin the radium bulb 2'; and an equal quantityiof a10% solution of sodium hydroxide was] placed in the a1- kali tube 3. Thebell jar 5 contained about one-half litre of water. By equilibrium ofthe radium chloride solution, I mean. a solution where the radium saltsare emitting emanation at the same rate as the emanation itself isdecaying. The following table shows the timerequired for'a radiumsolution, from which the emanation has been completely absorbed, torecover its equilibrium. Y no .Per cent equilibrium Time. recovered. 1hour Q75 3 hours 2.23 n5 1 day i 16.47 4 days -51.32 IOdays 83.4730-d-ays 99.55

In this was pumped through the radium solution at such a rate that allthe emanation was completely removed in 10 or 15 minutes. The valve 16was then operated and the air was then bubbled through the water in thetank for 10 minutes longer.. Tests of the resulting radio active waterin the tank were then made and- "it was found that the stren h oractivity almost exactly 1 of this Water corresponde to that of thefamous Carlsbad -hot baths.

As will be evident when using applicants invention the strength of theradio active water in the tank may be readily controlled not only byvarying the strength and amount of the radium solution in the bulb 2,but also by varying the rate and duration of flow of air through theapparatus. To produce the best results for any particular set ofconditions it may be necessary to make a few simple experiments.

It will be evident that instead of using the radioactive water fordrinking or bathing, it may be desired, for some therapeutic purposes.to inhale the air which collects in the bell jar above the water. Insuch a case the last traces of emanation contained in the air are notremoved therefrom but are allowed to remain. To inhale the radio activeair the stop cock 34 is opened and the rubber tube having a mouth piece(not shown) upon its other end, is then placed in the patients mouth,whereupon any desired amount of the air in the bell jar may be readilyinhaled.

l will now proceed to describe the modi fiedform of my apparatus shownin Figure 3. This form of absorbing apparatus is provided with thecasing 39 preferably of enameled metal or the like. Within the casing islocated the radium. bulb 40, below which is the potash bulb 41.Atmospheric air is drawn through the perforated stopper 42 into theouter chamber 43 of the radium oxide. The airthen passes through thepipe 46,'the two-way valve 47, the pipe 48,

to the reciprocating pump 49 which may be operated by hand. From thepump 49, the air passes through the pipe 50, into the flask 51v andthrough the pipe 52 which dips below the surface of the radium solution53. The emanation laden air coming from the radium bulb 40 is thencaused to pass into the pipe 54 and into the collecting vessel 55. Asthe air collects in the top of the collecting vessel 55, an equal columnof the water is forced up through the pipe 56 rising in the flask 57.The operation of the apparatus is continued until the level of theliquid in the collecting vessel 55 has reached a predetermined pointonthe scale 58. At this time, the pumpin is stopped, the twoway valve 49is turne through 90, and the pumping is continued to remove the lasttraces of emanation from the radium solution exactly as has beendescribed above in reference to the operation of the device in Figures 1and 2. If desired, after the radium emanation has been completelyabsorbed by the water in the collecting vessel 55, this radiumized watermay be transferred to the drinking glass 59 or other receptacles byoperating the valve 60.'

I will now proceed to describe the appathrough the emanation absorbingapparatus in a manner similar to that described above in connectionwiththe operation of Figures 1 to 3. The potash bulb 66 is located belowthe radium bulb 67 as in'the similar apparatus in Figure 3, alreadydescribed.

In operation, the faucet is first turned on and the water adjusted tothe proper temperature. The valve 67 at the lower end of the radiumapparatus is then opened and the aspirator 64 will then automaticallysuck air and emanation through the potash bulb and radium bulb of theapparatus, and the emanation will be absorbed from the air by the wateras" it flows into the tub. The course of the air may be traced asfollows: through the perforated glass stopper 68, outer chamber 69, thetube 70 and then into potash or soda solution 71 where the carbondioxide is removed.

The purified air is then drawn through the pipe 72, through the fiask73, the pipe 74 and throughthe radium solution 75. From this point theradiumized air flows throu h the pipe 76 through the valve 67 into t eflexible rubber tube 77, shown partly broken away, and into the sidetube 78 of the aspirator 64. To control the strength of the radiumizedwater flowing into the bath tub it is merely necessary to adjust thefaucet 65, the valve67, and the concentration and quantity of the radiumchloride solution in the radium bulb 67.

In the operation of this apparatus, much ofthe emanation remains in avapor condition, and does not dissolve in the water in the bottom of thetub. A cover 79 is provided upon the top of the tub 63 in order toprevent the escape of this radio active vapor and to cause the vapors toremain longer in contact with the patient being treated in the air spaceabove the water in" the tub.

I desire it to be understood that my invention is not to be limited tothe specific examples herein disclosed but that it may be practiced invarious other ways within the general scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. The process of absorbing radio active emauations from radio activematter, which comprises dissolving the radio active matter, passing agas through a column of a solution of caustic alkali to remove carbondioxide from said gas, passing the purified gas through a column of theradio active solution and then passing said gas through a column ofwater -to absorb the emanation from said gas.

2. The process of producing an aqueous solution containing radiumemanation which comprises pumpinga small portion of atmospheric airthrough a solution of caustic alkali and then through a solution of aradium salt, collecting said air and recirculating it through thesolution of the radium salt to completely absorb the emanation from saidsalt, bringing said. air into intimate contact with the water to absorbthe emanation therefrom, and recirculating said air through said wateruntil the water has completely absorbed emanation from said air.

3. In an apparatus for impregnating fluids with radium emanation, areceptacle containing caustic alkaln'a receptacle 'containing a solutionof radio active salt, a receptacle containing water, and means forpumping air from the atmosphere through the caustic alkali, the radiumsolution, and the water in succession.

4. In an apparatus for impregnating water ,with radium emanation, acasing, a receptacle containing caustic alkali, a receptacle containingradium solution, a receptacle containing water and a reciprocating pumpfor causing air to flow fromthe atmosphere through said caustic alkali,radium solution, and water in succession. I

5. In an apparatus for impregnating fluids with radium emanation, areceptacle containing caustic alkali, a receptacle containing 'radiumsolution, a receptacle containing water, means for, forcing air throughsaid alkali, radium solution and water in succession, means forcollecting the air subsequent to its passage through said water, andmeans for causing the collected air to pass through only the radiumsolution and the'water,

6. In an'apparatus for impregnating fluids with radium emanation, areceptacle containing caustic alkali, a receptacle containing a solutionof radioactive salt, a receptacle containing water, means for drawingair through said solutions and the water in succession, and forabsorbing the emanation carried by said air by continuously flowing saidair inltoo a stream of water flowing into a bath tu l I 7. In anapparatus for impregnating fluids with radium emanation, a receptaclecon- 8. The process of producing an aqueous solution containing radiumemanation which comprises passing air through a solutlon of a radlumsalt, whereby emanation is absorbe'd from said salt, passing the airthrough water to relieve the air of emanation, collecting the air freedfrom emanation, and recirculating the collected air through said radiumsalt to further absorb emanation therefrom.

9.'The process of producing an aqueous solution containing radiumemanation which comprises passing air free from carbon dioxide through asolution of radium salt, whereby emanation is absorbed from said salt,passing the air containing emanation through water whereby the emanationis absorbed by the water, collecting the air having emanation, relievedtherefrom, recirculating the collected air through the radium salt tofurther absorb emanation from the salt, passing the air a second timethrough the water, collecting the air thus passed a second time throughthe water, and subsequently passin the air through the water to effect acomp ete absorption of emanation.

by the water.

10. The process of producing an aqueous solution containing radiumemanation which consists in passing atmosphericair through an alkalisolution to remove the carbon dioxide, passing theair free of carbondioxide through a solution of radium salt, whereby emanation is absorbedfrom said salt, passing the air containing emanation through the waterwhereby the emanation is absorbed by the water, collecting the air,recirculating the collected air through the radium salt to furtherabsorb emanation from the salt, passing the air a second time throughthe water, collecting the air thus passed a sec-I ond time through thewater, and subsequently passing the air through the water to effect acomplete absorption of emanation by the water. I

In testimony whereof I have aflixed my signature to this s ecification.

, I-IARRY B. PALMER.

